Monday, February 22, 2010

Finally we got some snow! It's late in the season and the temperatures will be above freezing soon but at least we got some snow to play with. On the other hand, when I went out to shovel I found that someone had beat me to it. Guess I was not the only one to want to play with a snow shovel.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Many years ago I took a series of slides of barns and silos for a farm unit I was teaching to grade one children. Friday, as I drove down some country roads on the way to Hamilton, I realized that some of those barns were long gone and others were well on their way. Several of the barns in our neighbourhood that were full of dairy and beef cows only two years ago are now empty and falling into disrepair. I am thinking that perhaps a new set of photos is in order before this architecture and way of life is totally gone.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

It's unusual for Honeysuckle leaves to be hanging on this late in the winter. Only one bush in a damp area seems to be doing this in the Hendrie Valley of the RBG. There are the usual Oaks and Beeches hanging onto leaves in the area but that is normal. This particular Honeysuckle stands out in the lower shrubbery. There are three different Honeysuckles in the area so I don't know what species this is.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Really, it's way to early to be opening up but this particular Red-berried Elder (Sambucus rasemosa) is often opening up too soon and getting it's leaf tips frozen off. It should be at least a six weeks before this should be happening.

Monday, February 08, 2010

Another encaustic bit of art in progress. It just needs a bit of clean up so no major changes will happen. I am fairly pleased with this one already. There is just a bit of colour to remove from a couple of places and a signature to put on.

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Yes, a possible future chocolate bar: this cacao tree flower is on a cacao tree that is part of the "Amazon Voyage, vicious fishes and other riches" show that opened at the RBG this weekend. There are lots of other interesting things to see at the show.http://www.rbg.ca/pages/AmazonVoyage.html

Monday, February 01, 2010

I am taking an encaustic workshop next weekend and need several works in progress to take along. That being said, the more I look at this piece, the less I think it is "in progress" and the more I think it may be finished already. Comments and critiques welcome - positives, negatives, suggestions for change . . . offers to buy . . .

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About Me

I have wandered, walked, run, backpacked, cycled, and skied several thousands of kilometres in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Africa, and the South Pacific.
I have also canoed through many lakes and rivers. I have wandered as far north as the Arctic Circle in the Northwest Territories of Canada and as far south as the South Island in New Zealand. I have wandered to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and to the tops of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Ben Nevis in Scotland, Mount Washington in New Hampshire, and many other mountains in the Appalachian chain.
My longest walk was a 700 kilometre (435 mile) backpacking summer on the Appalachian Trail. My most challenging canoe trip was through most of the length of the Churchill River in Labrador.
Regardless of my foreign wanderings many of my most pleasurable wanderings have been within 10 km (6 miles) of wherever I happen to be living.
In words from the character Samuel Hamilton in John Steinbeck's East of Eden, "I take a pleasure in inquiring into things. I've never been content to pass a stone without looking under it."